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LibriVox recording of The Golden Bough, by Sir James Frazer.
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). It offered a modernist approach, discussing religion dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, rather than from a theological perspective. Although most of its theories have subsequently been exploded (the most famous one being that of the relationship between magic, religion and science), its impact on contemporaneous European literature was substantial.
The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief, ranging from ancient belief systems to relatively modern religions such as Christianity. Its thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that centered around the worship of, and periodic sacrifice of, a sacred king. This king was the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the earth, who died at the harvest, and was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claims that this legend is central to almost all of the world's mythologies, and he offers a plethora of colourful examples from all over the world. Moreover, his book is written in an admirable style, seldom excelled by his more modern colleagues.
(From Wikipedia, with small additions by Måns Broo)
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Download M4B part 2 (209MB)
Download M4B part 3 (220MB)
Download M4B part 4 (223MB)
Download M4B part 5 (214MB)
Download M4B part 6 (98MB)
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). It offered a modernist approach, discussing religion dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon, rather than from a theological perspective. Although most of its theories have subsequently been exploded (the most famous one being that of the relationship between magic, religion and science), its impact on contemporaneous European literature was substantial.
The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief, ranging from ancient belief systems to relatively modern religions such as Christianity. Its thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that centered around the worship of, and periodic sacrifice of, a sacred king. This king was the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the earth, who died at the harvest, and was reincarnated in the spring. Frazer claims that this legend is central to almost all of the world's mythologies, and he offers a plethora of colourful examples from all over the world. Moreover, his book is written in an admirable style, seldom excelled by his more modern colleagues.
(From Wikipedia, with small additions by Måns Broo)
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.
For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org.
Download M4B part 1 (217MB)
Download M4B part 2 (209MB)
Download M4B part 3 (220MB)
Download M4B part 4 (223MB)
Download M4B part 5 (214MB)
Download M4B part 6 (98MB)
Reviews
Reviewer:
JJ James
-
favoritefavoritefavorite -
February 3, 2022
Subject: Flawed opinions
Subject: Flawed opinions
Fraser's work is good only in the individual facts and not his forced narrative. In the Gospels it says Jesus died once for all, not as a yearly resurrected corn god as Frazer claims. He also fails to note how the ancient Israelites were in captivity to a few of the nations where these ideas sprang up, and could very well have been a perversion of the Old Testament prophecies of "the suffering servant" Jesus Christ.
Frazer wrote this tome at a time when the idea of evolution was studied and applied to any and every subject, he even uses social Darwinism as a way to explain and prove his points.
Its obvious reading the 12 volume work that the Golden Bough was an idea put together by a group of people and published under Fraser's name. He gives thanks and shout outs to many of his colleagues for feeding him information throughout. The influence of these writings reached men like Aleister Crowley who's ideas and system of "thelema" wouldn't have been possible without. It permeates the occult, and is felt even today.
Frazer wrote this tome at a time when the idea of evolution was studied and applied to any and every subject, he even uses social Darwinism as a way to explain and prove his points.
Its obvious reading the 12 volume work that the Golden Bough was an idea put together by a group of people and published under Fraser's name. He gives thanks and shout outs to many of his colleagues for feeding him information throughout. The influence of these writings reached men like Aleister Crowley who's ideas and system of "thelema" wouldn't have been possible without. It permeates the occult, and is felt even today.
